Under the Stars

[the setting:

overlooking (except it's night):

the cast:

]

Last night we sat out on our back porch and enjoyed the silence.  We had good company, decent wine,

and good music.  We spoke of important, world shattering topics.  Like:
Ron: "If we won the lottery, I don't think we should move.  We'd just make this house amazing."
Me:  "If we won the lottery, I'd quit my day job."
Important stuff.  Definitely.  But, all kidding aside, I feel so blessed to live in a home and neighborhood that we don't want to leave, even if we have all the money in the world.

Long time...

No see!

We are back from Cozumel and finally settling back into our routine.  I'll have our Cozumel post up soon.  I hope. :-)

Because I'm having such a difficult time keeping up with the blog, I'm going to set up the following post schedule. 

• Monday: Training Plan for the upcoming week and recap of the previous week
• Wednesday:  Random thoughts (travel, books, home, etc)
• Friday/Saturday: Menu plan for the upcoming week

Monday is really going to be the most difficult for me to keep up with, and I may need to change that post to Sunday, but we'll see how it goes.  I'm starting on a women's indoor soccer team next week.  I am so excited!  I played on a coed team a few years ago with Ron and really loved it, but I haven't ever played on an all girl team.  I'm eager to play again.  I'll let you know how that goes!


We had our first family get-together on Saturday for my Nana's 78th Birthday. 

(That's her in the middle at my wedding.) I loved having all of the family over at my house and am really looking forward to having them back!
Look what Mom & Dad brought me!

Jars for all of my bulk stuff!  Now I need chalkboard paint to make the labels.  Or I'm going to order some from Etsy.  Haven't decided yet.
The Plan:

OK, here is the workout plan for this week:

Monday: 20 minutes strength training
Tuesday: 3 miles @ 11:45 pace
Wednesday: 20 minutes strength training
Thursday: 3 miles @ 11:45 pace
Friday: 20 minutes strength training
Saturday: off
Sunday: 4 miles @ 11:45 pace

Recap:

Last week was OK.  I really only got one day of strength training in, but I got two of three planned runs in.  Thursday I did 2 miles @ 10:34 pace (a little faster than I was supposed to do).  Sunday I did 3 miles at about 11:00 minutes per mile.

My dinner plan for next week:

This week is from the Allrecipes menus.  I'm not feeling very creative right now, so this seemed good enough.  This one is the 5 No Fuss Summer Dinners.  I also have an eggplant and several summer squash from my CSA box that I'll work in this week.

Just Another Day

You'll never guess where I'm blogging from....my bed!  I. Am. Wiped!  I wasn't going to blog,  but I had so much to say I decided to take advantage of my laptop! 

I got to run last night with my best friend!  I was so happy Ron decided to run with me.  I enjoy the time together, even if we are huffing and puffing up a hill!  So here is my run last night by the numbers:
Distance          Duration        Avg Pace          Calories Burned            Climb
2.25 mi              25:57           11:32                     226                         160 ft

Look at those hills!  The house is at the top of a hill, so either way I run, it ends uphill!  This run was so much easier than Sunday's!  It's amazing what a difference being properly fueled and hydrated makes!  I really should have slowed down, but it's very hard to pace when there are no flat areas.  Everything is either up or down.  I'm not so discouraged about this Sunday's 3 mile run now.  Ron is looking forward to running with me tomorrow night, too. 

Tonight I did 20 minutes of arms with a workout I have stored on my iPhone from the now defunct PodFitness.  I really loved that program, and have yet to find anything like it.  I was so not into it, but I pushed through.  I'm not sure what the cause is for my lack of motivation and interest in strength training right now. I'm just going to keep pushing through, until I find something that works for me.

Dinner tonight was from Menus 4 Moms.  We had Ham and Cheese Stromboli with Clean Eating Country Potatoes.

This meal was super starchy, and I really wish I had just done a salad with the stromboli, but, alas, I have no greens!  I made French Bread dough in the bread machine to make the stromboli, and it turned out so yummy!

Then I layered the dough with ham, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese and rolled it up.

Brushed the top with melted butter and parmesan cheese, then baked in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Delicious!

I probably should have left it at that.  But I couldn't.  3 Minute Oatmeal Raisin Cookies were calling my name.  I substituted the raisins with dark chocolate chips.  I also split this with G and topped both bowls with chocolate chip ice cream.  It was good, but too much.  I'm feeling very bloated and full now.  Ugh.

Well, bed is calling my name.  Sweet dreams!

Training Recap

I made it through last week's training plan.  I ended up taking both Friday and Saturday off, because I had pain in my right foot during Thursday's run.  On Wednesday I did Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, which has caused me foot pain in the past.  I know from experience that continuing to run on it before it feels better only makes it unbearable.  I did complete Thursday's run, and the pain went away when I focused on landing on the center of my foot.  As slow as I'm going right now, I have a tendency to land on the outside of my foot, which only exacerbates the problem.

So here's the recap:
(You can also see my activities at RunKeeper and my virtual run across America mileage here)

Monday: Jillian Michael's Shred it With Weights
Tuesday: 2 miles @ 11:45 pace on the treadmill
Wednesday:  30 Day Shred
Thursday: 2 miles @ 11:45 pace on the treadmill
Friday & Saturday: off
Sunday: 2 miles @ 11:47 pace outside (with my killer hills!) 

Unfortunately, because the signal is so bad, I guess my splits weren't recorded on RunKeeper from Sunday.  This is very disappointing because I was counting on that to see how my pace was.  I forgot to stop it as soon as I hit two miles, so my pace is a little off.  However, you can see from the elevation, that I do have some pretty major hills to conquer on my loop!  Sunday was very difficult.  I seemed to do fine, until my last big hill.  The top of it is at 3/4 mile, then it levels out a little, then I have another incline at the mile mark.  I also had a little too much to drink the night before (love, love, love Sangria) and didn't properly hydrate and fuel before my morning run.  So this week, I will be watching my Saturday night drinking very closely, and make sure to supplement with lots of water!

Here is this week's plan:
Monday: Runner's World Fully Fit Strength Training
Tuesday: 2 miles @ 11:47 pace (outside because my day is all sorts of crazy!)
Wednesday: Strength (since Ron's out of town, I may have time for P90X core, but I'm not sure)
Thursday: 2 miles @ 11:47 pace (should be on the treadmill)
Friday: rest
Saturday: Boot Camp
Sunday: 3 miles @ 11:47 pace outside (why, hello hills!)

I was not impressed with the Runner's World workout, but I may not have done it correctly.  It didn't seem to challenge me at all, so I'm still looking for a short (30 minute or less) workout that I can do that will totally shred me.  Haven't found it yet, but I am taking suggestions!

Alright, off to cook dinner, then get my run in!  I'm hoping it's cooled off a little by 8:00... it's 102 right now.  Ugh!

Wine!

This weekend we had our wine bottling party.  What is that, you ask?  Well, last October we spent the day in wonderful Grapevine.  We were wine tasting at the various wineries, browsing in the shops, and munching in the restaurants.  After several glasses of a particularly good Zinfandel, we decided to order a 1/2 barrel of it.  Several months later it was ready to bottle, but we had to postpone (and postpone) our wine bottling due to a very busy schedule.  So, finally, Saturday was here.  We gathered with my parents and some of Ron's friends and bottled our wine.

G went with us, and we're so glad she did!  She tutored everyone on the proper bottling procedure.  The girl may have found her calling!  Su Vino Winery was a wonderful place!  Their wines are all wonderful and their cheese and antipasto plates were very good!  We enjoyed several of them.  :-)  Our wine will be ready to drink in about six months; just in time to give some of them as gifts to our nearest and dearest!

Afterwards we took the party to Love & War in Grapevine.  I love their tamales.  They are served on a bed of tortilla chips as one of their appetizers.  They have an extensive menu of wild game and dishes from various parts of the state, but Ron and I almost always order the tamales.  They have Shiner Bock on tap, and they have live music on their outdoor stage during the spring and summer, but we have yet to make it over there for one of their performances! 

This was a completely over-indulgent day, but it was so worth spending the time with friends and family!  And any chance we get to spend time in Grapevine, we take advantage of it.

Starting Over

I have completely fallen off the wagon.  Completely.  The weight is creeping back on, the belly is puffing out over my pants again, and I have no motivation.  At all.  The thought of working out for an hour to P90X is not at all something I have the time or the energy for.  And I miss running.  And I have a lot to get done at the new house.  Including cooking dinner and prepping lunches for G & me.
So here is my plan until November: half marathon training with whatever strength training I can fit in on my off days.  It should lay out something like this: 
Monday:  Strength or Yoga
Tuesday: Run (whatever Smart Coach has in store for me)
Wednesday: Strength
Thursday: Run
Friday: Strength
Saturday: Rest (for the majority of my training plan)
Sunday: Long Run

I'm very excited about this, so hopefully that's what it takes to remotivate me.  We have a family membership at the YMCA, so if I can get a schedule worked out, some of my strength workouts will be there.  It's very difficult, though, when we live so far out of town to justify a trip in just to work out.  We should have a full weight set up in the next couple of weeks, so that will help.  Tonight I did Jillian Michael's Shred It with Weights. Tomorrow Smart Coach is telling me to run two miles at a very slow pace (like, 11:30).  I'd like to wake up at 6:00 and get that out of the way before the heat arrives.
___________________________________________________________________________________

I absolutely love my kitchen so I have been cooking regularly.  Actually, I've done more grilling than I've cooked in the kitchen.
This week's menu looks something like this:
Sunday:  Grilled Chicken Ka-Bobs, Green Salad, Alfredo Risotto (from a box)
Monday: Ocean Flounder & Summer Vegetables; White Cheddar Yogurt Cornbread
Tuesday:  Sirloin & Vegetable Kebabs, Grilled Flatbread, Salad
Wednesday: Chicken Pesto & Pecan Tossed Salad from Menus 4 Moms
Thursday:  Hamburgers w/ grilled onions; whatever vegetables I have left over
Friday: Out?

You'll notice that this week includes mostly grill-meals as well!

A couple of treats I'd like to try this week:  Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies and Chilled Chocolate Banana Pie.  We'll see how that goes.  With the Mavericks in the playoffs, and the Rangers playing really well, I'd rather watch the games when I'm finished with dinner than cook more!  But, it looks like Ron will be working late tomorrow, so I may have time to do the Breakfast Cookies.  Yum!

Well, I'm off now!  I need to research what to do with the impulse buy of buckwheat groats, and really need to hop in bed early tonight!  I have a whole bunch more to write, but my very slow internet is driving me crazy!  I'll have to post more about our very fun weekend (that included bottling a barrel of custom made Zinfandel) and the progress on the house tomorrow.

Where does the time go?

Oh my goodness!  My goal for this evening was to do major work on this blog, especially since I haven't posted in two weeks.  And now it's 10:00 and I'm exhausted!
Here is what's been going on in the last two weeks:
WE MOVED!
It felt like we were holding our breath, just waiting for the other shoe to drop while we waited to find out when we were closing.  Finally, last Wednesday, we closed on both houses and brought our first truck load of boxes to the new house.  By Saturday we were out of the house on Timber Run completely.  There is still so much left to unpack here, but I really feel like we made a dent in the boxes this weekend! 
The last two weeks have also consisted of a lot of eating out, a lot of alcohol, a little working out in the form of unpacking, and no cooking.

I started cooking yesterday after a trip to the grocery store, and I really wanted to work out today, but by the time we got home and had dinner on the table, it was already late.

I'm very disappointed, but I'm going to set my alarm for very early in the morning to try to get a work out in before my day starts.  Ron is out of town, so it will have to be either the treadmill or a weight workout that I remember since the DVD player upstairs isn't plugged in yet.

I'll be posting about this house in a few days, but let me just say: I LOVE BEING IN THE COUNTRY!  That is all.